Returning Home
by manda899
Summary: Cassie is a daughter of First 9 she hasn't been to Charming in years. Now she's coming back to start a new life for herself, can Cassie keep herself and her new business out of not only the clubs grasp but a certain members as well. Or will old habits die hard. JuicexOC
1. Chapter 1

Rated M. Kurt Sutter owns all characters the only thing that is mine is Cassie. This is my first fan fiction so please be kind, I welcome all constructive critism. Story starts from season 4, but I'm not going to follow the season, will keep some stuff but have changed it around a lot.

Chapter 1

It was beautiful, a long white sandy beach, the water was a clear blue, staring out she could see the sun setting. She could almost feel the heat gloriously spreading over her skin. Sat on the sand at the edge of the water watching as the sun descended, beautiful oranges, reds and pinks filling the sky line. Something wasn't quite right though, during this peaceful moment all she could focus on was the sound of buzzing, Cassie looked around trying to find where it was coming from. It was then that she realised she was dreaming and that the buzzing she could hear was a phone, she slowly began to open her eyes and shifted to see her phone buzzing on the coffee table. It was then she realised she had fallen asleep on the couch, Cassie groggily sat up, she got a shock when the sunlight hit her, it was streaming in from the window. With that Cassie reached out and grabbed her sunglasses sliding them on before reaching again to grab her phone. When she looked down at the screen she saw how early it was, it was then she took note of the caller ID, seeing that it was Kozik calling her she groaned. Cassie stood up thinking the first thing she had to find today amongst the many boxes cluttering up her new apartment were curtains. She looked down at her phone again debating whether to ignore the call, but Cassie knew if she ignored him he would just keep calling until she answered.

Cassie dragged herself off the couch answering the call as she stood up "Hi Koz. There a reason your calling me so early?" she asked making her way to the kitchen, waiting for an answer Cassie began digging through one of the many boxes trying to find her coffee maker. A deep chuckle came from the other end of the phone "Well Cass, I aint used to being stood up so I was calling to see if there was a reason?" he asked sarcastically. Cassie suddenly stopped and remembered she was supposed to be meeting Kozik that morning so he could show her the place he found for her new bar "Shit! Sorry Koz, I completely forgot. Let me just throw some clothes on and I'll be there" Cassie made her way out of the kitchen and into the bedroom, grabbing the first box with clothes on it that she could find. "It's ok Cass, can't hurt to make the guy sweat a bit. I'll see you soon. Oh and Cass? Welcome back to Charming" Kozik seemed to be amused at the sound of her struggling to find something to wear. "Cheers Koz, I'll see you in ten". Cassie threw her phone down on the bed as she pulled on some blue ripped skinny jeans, she then bent back down to try to rummage through the rest to find a top. Cassie managed to find a white tank top so she grabbed that and threw it on. Once she was dressed Cassie ran out to the kitchen and quickly poured some coffee into the plastic takeaway mug she had on the side. Cassie then ran to the front door grabbing her black boots and pulling them on. Opening the door she grabbed her bag and leather jacket off the coat hooks and left.

Twenty minutes later Cassie pulled up outside of the address Kozik had given her, as she pulled up she looked at the building and sighed to herself "Really Koz?" This building was a mess, at least it looked it from the outside. It looked like it was a couple of stories high with a fire escape at the end on the left which stretched up to the roof. The building was red brick, it looked like it has sat empty and unloved for a long time "I know that feeling" Cassie thought to herself. The entrance had a big black wooden door, and there appeared to be some sort of bush starting to grow around the outside. Cassie jumped out of her black Mitsubishi Warrior pulling her jacket on and turning to pull her bag off the passenger seat. As she shut the door to the truck she finally got a glimpse of herself in the window "For fucks sake" Cassie thought, she looked like crap, her hair was a mess and she had bags under her eyes. Before she went in to look for Koz and the realtor Cassie opened her bag to find a hair tie. After some rummaging she found one right at the bottom, Cassie put her bag on the front of the truck and walked back around to the window, she reached around and started pulling up her long dark brown hair into as neat a ponytail as she could manage. After deciding she wasn't actually that bothered Cassie took one last look in the window "Oh screw it". With that she grabbed her bag off the front of the truck and made her way towards to entrance.

As Cassie walked into the building she could hear Kozik talking to the realtor "Give it another five minutes man, she'll be here" Cassie smiled to herself and walked over to where they were standing. "Hey, sorry I'm late. Had a few glasses of wine after I finished moving into the apartment". Kozik turned when he heard her walking up behind him. "Nice of you too finally join us" he said sarcastically before walking over to her and scooping her into a hug. The realtor stood behind Kozik not looking too happy about being kept waiting, Cassie chuckled to herself "Oh smile man, im here aren't I. If you want me to buy the place your chances of selling it to me would be improved if you smile" with that Kozik lowered her to the ground again and turned to laugh at the man stood behind him.

Kozik turned back to Cassie a serious look crossing his face "So what d'ya think kid?" he asked Cassie pulling her hand to take her to look around the building. Cassie finally started to look at the space, it wasn't as bad as the outside of the building would lead you to believe. There was loads of space, even room in the back for a small stage. Cassie loved live music so putting some sort of stage in her bar was a must. Kozik pulled Cassie over to the bar that was already there, it was old and covered in dust and muck, but Cassie could see the potential...sort of. She walked around to the back of the bar and found another room which would be perfect as an office, as she walked around she found another door, she looked questioningly from the door to Kozik and the realtor. It was the realtor who spoke up "That's the cellar Miss Vellenueva" he answered. Cassie nodded and walked back out into the bar and the main hall of the building, she stopped and turned to question the realtor "So what can you tell me about the building?" she asked.

Before answering her question the realtor opened the file he had brought with him, as he looked through his paperwork Cassie turned to Kozik who was looking at her with a cheeky grin. "What Koz?" she asked him, Kozik smiled and shook his head "Nothing it's just great to have you back around again kid" Kozik looked back at the realtor, realising he was still looking through his paperwork. He turned back to Cassie and began whispering to her "So what do you think? It's good right?" he asked. Cassie looked back at him shrugging her shoulders "I don't know Koz, it needs a lot of work" she answered honestly. "Come on Cassie I thought you liked a challenge. Look it's perfect, outskirts of town it's already got a bar, office what else do you need?" Cassie looked at him and laughed, she knew he was right already this place seemed perfect even though she knew it would need a lot of cleaning up and work. Before they could continue the discussion the realtor walked over to them, he seemed exasperated "I'm sorry Miss Vellenueva I havent worked this building. It's $60,000 has an apartment above and has planning permission if you wished to alter the building at all" Cassie looked at him sceptically. "Look my names Steve, im 32 with a wife and two kids at home, we have had this building on the market for over a year now, I need to get rid of it or my boss is gonna have my ass! Do you want it or not?" As soon as he finished speaking Steve regretted the way he had spoken, glancing at the man stood next to her wearing a cut he began to worry. He had over stepped the mark and probably just completely pissed of one of the Sons, suddenly Steve felt panic wash over him. Everyone in Charming knew who the Sons were and to stay out of their way.

Cassie looked at the man in front of her shocked by his outburst, she saw a look of panic on his face and wondered why he might show so much concern about her reaction. Yes she had a not so pleasant history and had been known to lose her temper, but only if pushed. How did he know that anyway, Cassie looked over at Steve again and realised it wasn't her he was looking at, it was Kozik. Cassie looked at Kozik and the penny dropped, Kozik was a Son this guy must know about the MC and was worried about how Kozik might react to his outburst. Suddenly Cassie felt sorry for him, she thought it over for a minute debating whether she should give the guy a break or make his life a little harder. Finally after looking to Kozik who looked equally surprised and slightly pissed off, he just shrugged at her, Cassie had made her decision.

"Steve is it...well Steve the delivery on your pitch is a little off, but I'll do you a favor. As long as the apartment upstairs isn't in too bad shape I'll take it" Cassie said with a smile turning up the corner of her mouth. A look of relief washed over Steve's face "Thank you Miss Vellenueva, do you want to go up and have a ook around?" he asked happily. Cassie nodded assuming that Steve was going to show her and Kozik to a door near the back of the building. Instead Steve lead them back out to the front of the building, he made his way towards the fire escape. A look of confusion spread on Cassies face, then she noticed it a door stood just behind the fire escape.

As they walked through the door Steven led them up a flight of stairs, when they reached the top they came to another door. Cassie watched as Steve pulled out another key and unlocked the apartment, she was hoping the place wasn't a complete dump and didn't need so much work like the downstairs. Cassie turned before she entered the apartment looking at Kozik who was making his way up the stairs behind her. Kozik hadn't noticed that Cassie had stopped just in front of him,he almost walked into her and knocked her flying, but he managed to grab her before she fell. "Jesus Cass, why d'you stop?" Cassie looked at him a stern look crossing her face "I thought I'd just tell you Koz, if this place is as bad as downstairs I'm gonna kick your ass. That and you'll be doing all the work" she finished with a smirk on her face. Kozik laughed and lightly pushed Cassie forward into the apartment "Whatever Cass, just move your ass" smirking at his remark Cassie turned and smacked Kozik on the arm.

She continued on into the apartment, finding that surprisingly it wasn't as bad as she thought. Actually the apartment upstairs was amazing, they walked through and to the left there was a surprisingly large kitchen with beautifully large windows, granted the view wasn't spectacular but hey at least the light was nice. The cupboards were a dark brown with silvery worktops and there was a small island in the middle with a couple of stools around it. As they walked further in to the apartment Cassie saw the space of the living area, she could see at the end of the room was a hallway which presumably lead to the bedroom and bathroom. Their was shelving areas knocked into the wall at the end, next to a space where their had presumably been a TV on the wall and more windows that were similar to the ones in the kitchen, Cassie realised they wouldn't do a lot for privacy but considering it was an empty lot behind the building she didn't worry, she was sure she could find some curtains or blinds to help with that. Cassie couldn't believe her luck she could already picture where she was going to put her furniture.

Cassie couldn't believe her luck she walked down the hallway leaving Kozik and Steve in the kitchen, the bathroom was the first room down the hall, it was white and black tile with a bath and separate shower. Cassie then moved down to the bedroom, it has a painted feature wall that was a deep dark purple "This must be fate" Cassie thought, purple was her favourite colour.

Whilst Cassie was looking around the bedroom Kozik stayed in the kitchen with Steve, Steve was shifting nervously and kept glancing at Kozik out of the corner of his eye. Kozik chuckled to himself, he knew why Steve was watching him, he was waiting to see if there would be repercussions for his earlier outburst, Kozik wondered if he should let the guy sweat on it a little more or if he should reassure him. He decided the latter was the best option but he wasn't going to let him off completely "Dont worry man she loves it, you know how I know, she's been quiet the last 15 minutes. And I don't think its me you should be worrying about, if you had pissed her off earlier she would have kicked the shit out of you and probably left you beaten on the side of the road" Kozik stared at him for a minute waiting for his reaction. Steve seemed to visibly relax and looked shocked at the same time, he quickly turned when he saw Cassie walking back out from the hallway with a great big smile on her face. "Steve this place is awesome, how come downstairs is a shit hole but this place is...well like this?" Steve looked at her for a moment unsure if she really wanted him to answer or not, after what Kozik had said to him Steve was looking at the woman in front of him in a different light, before he wouldn't have thought of her as the violent type, but then was he that surprised she was here with a Son after all.

"Well Miss Vellenueva from the notes in the file, it seems that the previous owner was using the space downstairs as some sort of storage for stolen items and drugs. And then with the money they made from that it enabled them to renovate the apartment to a high standard. When local law enforcement found out they arrested the owners and confiscated all the stolen merchandise. The previous owner is selling to pay for legal fees"

Kozik looked at Cassie searching her face to see if he could figure out what she was thinking "So what d'ya think Cass? Did I do good or did I do good?" he said with a smile. "You know what Koz, I think you did awesome, this place is perfect. Steve I'll take it" Steve looked at Cassie a smile spreading across his face "Excellent Miss Vellenueva, would you like to come back to the office and go through the paperwork?" Cassie looked at him, she suddenly felt a rumble in her stomach. Realising she hadn't had any breakfast yet, Cassie wanted the place but to be honest couldn't be bothered with the paperwork right now, first she had to eat. "Steve I need to eat, can I just pop round to the office after. If I don't eat now I'm gonna pass out and then I wont be signing anything".

As they made their way back outside Cassie was glad Steve didn't have an issue with her popping by the office later. When Steve had gotten in his car and left, Cassie turned to Kozik. "You taking me for breakfast then Koz. Gonna catch me up on all things Charming" she asked. Kozik smiled and looked at Cassie, he loved this girl not in a romantic way, she was like a sister to him. Kozik remembered when he first met her she was 13 he was 19 and prospecting at SAMTAC, her father had taken her away for a couple of days and they had stopped off at the SAMTAC clubhouse for the night. Cassie's father spent the night with croweaters hanging from him and he had gotten a younger Kozik to watch the kid for him. Then a couple of months later Chico had come over to SAMTAC for a while to help set the club up with the gun running, Chico this time had brought Cassie and her mother with him. Kozik had become somewhat of a guardian towards Cassie whilst she was there, especially when her mother and father spent the majority of their time fighting about the sweetbutts. Kozik gradually fell more and more for the kid, she was a surprise to him, he expected her to have been nervous and shy around all the bikers but she wasn't. Cassie was brave, mischievous and their wasn't a lot that seemed to scare her.

Kozik was brought out of his thoughts with Cassie yelling at him "Yo Koz, you with me? Kinda zoning out there" she said. "Sorry Cassie just brings back a lot of memories having you around. Breakfast, I can do that. Get in that ridiculous truck of yours and follow me" he said walking off to his bike. Cassie shouted back over to him as the roar of the engine kicked in "It's not ridiculous, its awesome!" Kozik sped off as Cassie jumped into her truck and followed after him.


	2. Chapter 2

Again I own nothing apart from Cassie. Sutter is a legend. I'm not sure how far I'm going to take this story but at the moment just getting my ideas down and seeing what happens. Please review, construction criticism always welcome.

Chapter 2

Riding with an MC was like nothing else, it was the most exhilarating feeling in the world to get on a bike and just ride with your brothers. And today was one of the best days so far for Juice, getting out of Stockton after 14 months, being greeted by his brothers on the outside of the gate, getting his cut back and sitting on his bike again. After 14 months locked up it would be good to get back home and see everyone. Juice looked down the line of bikes at all of his brothers, although he was glad to be out and headed home, in the back of his mind he was concerned about what the future looked like for himself and the club.

After an hours ride the Sons all pulled up into the TM lot, Juice watched as some of his brothers went to greet their families and old ladies who were waiting to welcome them home, while others were welcomed by croweaters. Juice sat on his bike and watched as Jax walked over to Tara and the boys, watching that moment made Juice wonder if he would ever meet someone, he'd never thought much about getting an old lady, but sitting there watching Jax and Tara he wondered what it might be like to have someone to come home too. Pushing that thought from his mind he got up from his bike and thought about it, deciding for now he was happy with the occasional fuck from one of the croweaters. Although he knew that if he did decide to settle down one day with an old lady, that the croweaters were probably not the right way to go, he couldn't picture ever wanting to settle down with any of them, considering the majority of them had been with the rest of the guys at least once, he didn't want and old lady that he had previously shared with one or all of his brothers.

For now though Juice was just happy to be home, as he started to make his way into the clubhouse Gemma walked over to him and wrapped him in a hug "How you doin baby?" she asked. Juice looked at her with a smile "I'm good Gem, glad to be home". Gemma smiled at Juice she turned with him and began walking to the clubhouse "Well were glad to have you all home and safe. By the way I made a run to all the guys houses, filled the fridge and made sure you got food and stuff for when you got back". Juice looked at Gemma with adoration, he admired this woman, she was the queen of SAMCRO and she always looked after all of them, to Gemma the guys were family it was this moment that Juice realised, Gemma was more of a mother too him then his biological mother was "Thanks Gem" he said as they arrived at the door to the clubhouse. Juice let Gemma walk in ahead of him, as he walked in he looked around at all of his brothers, it felt good to be back. Juice saw Bobby, Chibs, Happy, Piney and Tig at the bar with Opie, the prospects serving drinks to all the guys. Clay was sat over at one of the tables and Gemma was walking over to join him and Jax was over on the couches with Tara and the kids.

Juice walked over to the bar, as he sat on one of the stools a prospect put a beer in front of him "Cheers man". Juice sat listening to the guys trying to figure out what they were discussing, from the sound of it the guys were talking about a party. It then clicked that Opie had arranged a homecoming party tonight for the guys. Juice began looking around the clubhouse, it was then he realised there was someone missing, he had already heard that Kozik had patched in while they were locked up, but he couldn't see Kozik anywhere. Juice looked to Opie "Op, where's Koz man?" Opie looked up at Juices question. "He's out with Cassie" Opie answered, as though Juice would know who that was. "Cassie? Kozik got a new old lady or something?" Juice asked with a smirk. Opie laughed at Juices question, Opie knew Cassie she was the daughter of a First 9, they practically grew up together, at least until her mother took her and ran off to Mexico. Cassie used to hang around with him and Jax when they were kids, Opie and Jax used to pick on her thinking they could get away with it because she was a girl.

Until one day Cassie had enough and she decided to fight back, the three of them had been hanging around the clubhouse Jax and Opie were looking through a Harley magazine, picking out what bikes they wanted when they were old enough to have them. Cassie had gone over to look as well and pointed out a bike she wanted, Jax and Opie had both sniggered and made remarks about her being a girl and that girls couldn't ride bikes. With that Cassie took the magazine rolled it up and she began hitting both of them with it, when she dropped the magazine she continued hitting both the boys in the face. It was broken up when Cassie's mother Rita came rushing over with Gemma pulling Cassie off the boys. Jax and Opie had sat there completely stunned, Rita was pulling Cassie away giving her an earful about how young ladies were supposed to behave and Gemma stayed to check the boys. After that Jax and Opie found they had a new respect for Cassie and they refused to wind her up anymore, in fact from that point on the three of them became quite close, whenever they were around the clubhouse they all hung out causing trouble together. It was only a couple of years later that Rita had decided she was done with Chico and had taken Cassie to Mexico, much to the boys dismay.

Opie realised he had zoned out whilst remembering Cassie when they were young, he still hadn't answered Juice's question "No man, Cassie's like his little sister. She's a daughter of First 9, she's Chico's kid. Grew up with me and Jax but her mom took her to Mexico when Cassie was 14, she used to come back occasionally. Haven't seen her in years, but Kozik just persuaded her to move back, he's showing her a building he found, she's setting up a new bar".

Juice was surprised, he obviously knew about Chico, he was First 9 every member knew about them. What he didn't know was that Chico had a daughter "This should be interesting" he thought to himself. But before he could ask Opie more about this Cassie girl Clay called Church, Juice and the guys grabbed their beers and headed to Chapel.

As the guys sat around the table Clay began by thanking Opie, Chibs and Phil for keeping things running while they were inside. When that was done he asked about Roosevelt, the new sherrif they had met on the way into town. Juice remembered watching the guy while he was talking to Clay and from where Juice was he could see Roosevelt was trying to rattle Clay and get a reaction out of him, thankfully Clay hadn't given him one. But Juice could tell this new Sherrif was gonna be trouble for the club. Juice continued to listen as Clay talked about the clubs next moves now they were out of Stockton, part of him wished they could come out and take a break from the gun running and just focus on something legit. Being involved with the Irish was dangerous and sooner or later it was gonna hurt the club, but Juice kept those thoughts to himself he knew they wouldn't be appreciated at the moment.

Clay finished the meeting telling the guys they could take the rest of the day off, but that he wanted to see everyone at the party tonight. Juice was grateful now the meeting was over all he wanted to do was go take a shower and relax a bit, maybe play some Xbox. When church was over Juice walked out of Chapel and stopped he couldn't decide whether to stay at the clubhouse or go back to his place, after a minute Juice decided he would go back to his place. As he went to leave the clubhouse a croweater walked into his path "Hey baby, want some company?" she asked him. Juice looked her over, she was pretty, blonde, curvy and was wearing one of the shortest skirts he had ever seen which she had paired with a pink corset top. Juice thought about it for a moment he could stay there and probably get his dick sucked and a small amount of comfort she was offering, but in the back of his mind all he could think was that he had seen the same girl on numerous different occasions hanging off, of a few of his brothers. Which then lead him to think about when they arrived back at TM and he was watching Jax with Tara and the boys. With that Juice simply told her no and pushed past her to leave the clubhouse. As he got outside he saw Chibs sitting on one of the picnic tables having a smoke "Alright Juicey boy?" Chibs asked. Juice walked over to him "Yeah man I'm good, I'm gonna head back to my place and chill before tonight" Chibs inwardly laughed at Juice knowing full well he was gonna go home and play on that stupid gaming machine of his "I'll see ya later then" Chibs finished his cigarette and watched as Juice walked towards his bike.

Juice pulled up at his house, he parked his bike in the driveway. Before going in Juice looked at his house and thought about how long it had been since he'd actually spent any time here, even before they got locked up Juice spent the majority of his time at the clubhouse. He made his mind then that he was gonna try to spend more time there, he had bought the house a couple of years ago, he thought it would be a good investment, due to the repairs and decorating it needed, he thought he could do the place up and sell it on. As Juice walked in he expected the place to be a complete mess, but when he walked in he found the house was clean and tidy. As he walked through the lounge Juice couldn't believe actually how clean his place was, he then walked into the kitchen and found a note on the fridge which explained why his place was clean "Hey Baby, your place was disgusting got some of the girls to do some cleaning while you were away. If I find it like that again I'm gonna kick your ass. Gemma" Juice laughed at the note, he really did love Gem she was like a nagging Mom.

With that Juice walked down the hallway towards his room, once in the doorway Juice threw his bag on the bed and went for a shower, washing away the dirt from being locked up. When he was done he went to the kitchen to see what food Gemma had stocked his cupboards with, he grabbed a beer from the fridge and some chips from the cupboard. Juice went through to the lounge and switched on his TV and Xbox, he decided he was gonna chill at his place until the party tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

Everything belongs to Kurt Sutter, I own Cassie nothing else. I've already got a few chapters written that's why I am posting so fast just reviewing them if anyone see's any mistakes please let me know. Reviews welcomed. To those that have read so far thank you.

Chapter 3

Cassie and Kozik were sat in a local café right in the centre of Charming, they were waiting on their order. So far they had talked about what Cassie had been upto for the last few years, Kozik managed to find out why it had been so easy for him to persuade Cassie to come back to Charming, seemingly after she left Tacoma Cassie had moved to Vegas and had gotten involved with a guy who ran one of the smaller casinos, he turned out to be a complete control freak who tried to control Cassie down to telling her what to wear, Cassie thought she could change him but when she had finally had enough he'd decided to try and get violent with her, that was when she left. Normally if Kozik heard that someone he cared about was getting abused, he would have been straight on his bike heading to Vegas to go and kill him. But Kozik knew Cassie and if he knew her as well as he thought she wouldn't have let this guy get away with it, hell he would be surprised if she let him live. As far back as he could remember Cassie had, had a temper, although it took a lot of pushing to set her off, once she did people usually backed off pretty quick.

Not wanting to force Cassie into talking about that part of her past too much, Kozik decided to change the subject he looked at Cassie and asked "So what happened to you this morning?" a smirk dancing on his lips. Cassie looked slighty sheepish "It was a stressful day alright Koz, I moved a lot of stuff, stuff which I am now gonna have to move again so I finished the evening with a bottle or two of wine and I may have fallen asleep on the couch" Cassie laughed as she answered. Kozik gave her a disapproving older brother look "Anyway what did you think of the building?" Kozik asked Cassie, "It's great, I can't believe you found it. I was shocked at how nice the apartment is, when I first pulled up I thought I might cry, but the space is good, needs some work but not as much as I thought!" Cassie sipped on her coffee, looking at the man sat in front of her Cassie realised how much she missed this. Being around Kozik or any of the guys Cassie always felt so relaxed and safe and it reminded her of how she felt when her father was around "So tell me hows the club? I heard about John and then Clay taking over as President, but I never really kept up to date with who was still about and who wasn't only heard bits and pieces from Ma".

"Pretty much the same I think, Jax is VP now all the guys are still around Chibs, Bobby, Piney, Tig, Happy and Juice". Cassie looked at him quizzically she recognised all the names apart from Juice and she was shocked to hear Happy's name, she remembered him from Tacoma and last she's heard he was patched in with the Nomads. "Happy patched to SAMCRO?" Cassie asked confusion in her voice. "Yeah patched over just before me" he answered. Cassie nodded she was surprised, Happy never seemed to be the sort to set up roots in one place. She remembered when she was younger watching him around SAMTAC he used to walk around intimidating most people he came into contact with. But Happy never intimidated Cassie, she found him intriguing he was always quiet and had a stern hard look on his face, but occasionally when he thought no one was looking Cassie caught him smiling to himself. Cassie remembered one day walking into the clubhouse at SAMTAC and Happy was in the middle of getting a tattoo, she saw it was a smiley face on the bottom of his stomach and it wasn't the only one he had there, there were a few there from what Cassie could see. She remembered being surprised to see such a hard man getting a smiley face tattooed on him.

Later on that day Cassie was hanging out in the clubhouse and Happy walked out of one of the rooms from the back heading behind the bar he grabbed a beer, it was then that Happy noticed her staring at him "What you lookin at kid?" he asked walking over to her. Cassie thought for a moment before answering and her gaze fell onto Happy's stomach "Why have you got smiley face tattoos?" she asked, Cassie looked up at Happy unsure of his reaction to her question.

Happy looked at the kid in front of him, for a moment he was shocked she had asked him that question let alone spoken to him at all, normally people who weren't members of the club avoided any sort of contact with him, they found him intimidating and that was just fine with Happy he wasn't much of a people person anyway. But there was something about this kid, she didn't seem that scared of him, maybe a bit unsure of him but not scared. "They're kills, everytime I kill someone I get a tattoo" Happy waited for her response expecting her to look scared and frightened but instead she just smiled at him. And from that moment Happy had respect for the kid, she wasn't scared she just accepted what he had told her, Happy wasn't sure why he was surprised she was Chico's daughter, having him as a father she would have grown up around bikers and the sons weren't exactly known for being softies. From then on whenever he saw her around the SAMTAC clubhouse he would say hello and sometimes sit and talk to her, Happy looked out for the kid and was disappointed when her mother moved her too Mexico.

"Hap would be glad to see you, he was upset when your Ma moved you away. Not that he ever said it, but you could tell" Kozik said with a smile. Cassie smiled she would like to see him too, it had been years and Happy had become a sort of father figure to her back at SAMTAC. Cassie thought about the rest of the guys, if she was honest it would be nice to see all the guys and meet the new ones, she knew it would feel like coming home. "Who's Juice?" Cassie asked with a laugh, what a stupid name she thought to herself. "He's the Intelligence Office, he's an idiot but he's a good guy, been with the club a few years now I think" Cassie laughed at the insult slash compliment Kozik had just given the guy "Why an idiot?" she asked. Kozik went on to tell Cassie the story he'd heard from Tig about how he'd once given Juice some sleeping pills to look after but that Jucie took some thinking they were Speed, the guys found him passed out in the clubhouse and stripped him, put a diaper on him and stapled a note on his chest before dumping him in the middle of town. Cassie laughed at hearing the story, the guy did sound like a bit of an idiot.

With that Cassie quizzed Kozik about how things were in Tacoma and why he had jumped to SAMCRO, he explained that initially he had only come down to Charming to help SAMCRO out but ended up liking it down here. He told her about trying to patch in a couple of times, but not being able to due to Tig voting no each time. He had made the decision to go back to Tacoma after that, but then the guys went inside which just left Chibs, Opie and Piney to run things, and they needed the help so the guys patched him in while the others were inside.

"So when are the guys out?" Cassie asked looking at Kozik. Kozik smiled "Today" he answered, Kozik looked at the clock on the wall behind the café counter, seeing it was almost 11am "Actually, they're probably already back" Cassie looked at him wondering why he was with her instead of welcoming back his brothers, as if reading her Kozik answered her silent question "Thought I'd give the guys some time with their families. I'll see them later, Opie has arranged a homecoming party for the guys later at the clubhouse. Which reminds me, d'ya wanna come? I'm sure everyone would be glad to see you after all this time" Cassie thought about it for a moment, before she could answer the waitress brought their food over. Cassie's stomach rumbled looking at the eggs, bacon and pancakes on the plate that was put in front of her. As she and Kozik each dug into their food she thought about his question, did she want to go back there, SAMCRO was her past and although she had moved back to Charming she wasn't sure she wanted to get too involved in the club. The MC life had killed her father and although she respected the club and what they stood for, she knew if she started to get involved she wouldn't be able to stop and she'd get further and further pulled into it.

A part of her knew she was always in a way going to be involved with the MC it was in her blood, the MC life was how she was raised. Cassie thought about it a bit more, her head was telling her it probably wasn't a good idea to go to the party, but her heart thought about seeing everyone again, seeing Opie and Jax would be nice, even Gemma. Cassie had always had massive respect for Gemma, she was like family to Cassie when she was younger and Cassie felt they were very similar, loyal to a fault, strong, independent women who didn't take shit from anyone.

Cassie knew in her heart of hearts she wanted to go, so she decided to ignore her head for a change "What times the party?" she asked Kozik. Kozik looked at her with a smile "Think it starts at 8pm" he answered.

"Ok I'll be there" Cassie said. Kozik and Cassie carried on reminiscing about the things they used to get upto back in Tacoma. When they had finished eating Kozik paid the bill and they left the café. Once outside Cassie got directions on how to get to the realtors office, Cassie arranged to meet Kozik at her place at 7:30pm and she would drive them to TM for the party, they then said their goodbyes and went their separate ways, Cassie to the realtors and Kozik either to go and do club stuff or to see whatever croweater he was seeing that week.


	4. Chapter 4

I own nothing apart from Cassie, everything else belong to Kurt Sutter. Don't think it's going to badly so far lol. Hope everyone is enjoying it so far. Reviews welcome :)

Chapter 4

Later that day Cassie was back at her apartment, she had managed to find the coffee maker that morning and was waiting for it to finish boiling whilst she waited she began looking over the copies of the paperwork she had been given from Steve the realtor. That was it she was now officially rooted back in Charming. This move was either going to the best decision Cassie had made or the worst. Cassie knew she had significant history in Charming and she was linked to this place forever thanks to her father being a member of SAMCRO and being First 9, she also realised she had her own ties and associations with SAMCRO but Cassie was determined to not be dragged back into that life. Cassie had loved the life when she was younger, in fact she embraced the biker chick lifestyle completely, even after her mother moved them to Mexico. Cassie got involved with wrong crowd she started doing drugs and drinking heavily, she seemed to always be in trouble with the law after being involved in a string of assaults. Her mother had tried everything to get her daughter on the straight and narrow, but her behaviour had escalated after her father died. After that Cassie continued down the dangerous path and just when her mother was getting ready to cut ties with her Cassie had an overdose, the people she had been hanging with dumped her outside the hospital and left her there, it was this that shocked her straight, sitting in the hospital for weeks her mother was the only person that came to see her, granted Kozik and Happy had phoned her every week, at one point Happy had even offered Rita to come down to Mexico and sort Cassie out himself, if overdosing wasn't enough to get Cassie to sort her life out than the thought of Happy coming down and probably killing all her friends certainly did. Rita was there every step of the way as Cassie went through her detox and rehab and when it was over she helped Cassie start her life over.

That was a part of the reason Cassie had returned to America, as grateful as she was to her Mother for letting her stay with her after her stint in rehab and giving her time to get a job and save some money, it was still hard for Cassie to stay away from the people and places she used to hang with. That was why she made the decision to return to the US, attend school and try to start a career, her Mother had been very supportive of Cassie's decision to return to the US for school, as much as she would miss her daughter she knew it would at least get her away from all the trouble she had in Mexico. It was then her Mother made the decision to allow Cassie access to the money her Father had left her before he died. Cassie made the move and began school, the only problem with that was that when Cassie began school she also started a job working in a local bar to help pay for her education. Cassie loved working at the bar, she eventually decided that was what she wanted to do, every day she worked she had fun, meeting new people, getting to know the regulars and making friends Cassie especially loved the nights they had live bands playing at the bar, they would always end up being the best nights. So half way through the year Cassie changed her course and began a studying business. The guy that owned the bar took her under his wing at her request and began teaching her all about the business, Cassie loved every second of it.

After completing her course Cassie decided to move back to Tacoma, she stayed away from the club while she was there but got back in touch with Kozik again. He helped her put together a business plan and Cassie used the money her Father had left her to open her own little bar, at first the bar didn't do very well and wasn't really making her money but after a few months it picked up. After a year in Tacoma though Cassie began feeling bored, she decided she needed to enjoy life a bit more and not just constantly work. On a whim she decided to sell the bar and move to Vegas, the city always held a fascination for Cassie, so she sold the bar and moved, Kozik tried to persuade her to stay even going so far as to threaten her with Happy and her Mom, but when he realised Cassie wasn't going to be dissuaded he gave up and let her go.

Cassie was brought out of her thoughts when the coffee machine beeped letting her know it was ready, Cassie put down the paperwork and made her way into the kitchen. She grabbed the only mug she had unpacked and poured the delicious liquid into her cup, Cassie turned when she heard her phone buzz, she walked over to the coffee table and picked up her phone. When she looked down she saw a message from Kozik saying he would be at her place in 30 minutes. Cassie hadn't realised the time, after going to the realtor Cassie had wondered around the town, she had done some window shopping and had been to speak to some local builders about coming to look at the building and completing a quote for the work that needed doing.

Cassie took her coffee and made her way to her bedroom, she decided she better try to find something to wear before Kozik came. As she walked into her room Cassie took one look at the boxes scattered everywhere and sighed "At least I don't have to unpack them" she thought to herself. Pulling one of the boxes onto the bed, Cassie put her coffee on the side and started looking through her clothes she wasn't sure what to wear, did she just go casual or wear something a bit more dressy. Cassie decided since she was just going to the club she was going with casual. So she pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans, she found a Guns N'Roses tank top and put that on, she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror realising how tired she looked, Cassie grabbed some makeup out of her bag, she couldn't be bothered with full on makeup like a lot of women, she just used a bit of blusher, black eye liner and mascara. When she'd applied the little makeup she had Cassie pulled a brush through her hair, she debated putting it up but her soft brown hair was slightly wavy at the moment and she decided it was nice enough to leave down, she then looked in the mirror at herself "That will do" she thought to herself before she grabbed her coffee and made her way out to the lounge, Cassie decided she couldn't be bothered to dig out another pair of shoes so she pulled on her black boots and went to sit on the couch to finish her coffee before Kozik turned up.

Fifteen minutes later the buzzer was going and Cassie had let Kozik in, "Ready to go then Cass?" he asked looking her up and down "Yeah just got to grab my jacket" she said walking towards the chair and getting her jacket. "So how did it go with the realtor?" Kozik asked as he watched Cassie pull her jacket on "Yeah all signed, I am now the proud owner of an empty bar with no name" laughed Cassie "Managed to find some builders as well they're gonna go up and have a look around in a couple of days to give me a quote". "That's good, if you want me around to make sure they don't try and screw you on the money, let me know" Kozik said laughing, knowing full well that Cassie certainly didn't need his help. "Thanks Koz, but I think I'll be fine. You ready to go?" Cassie asked as she grabbed her bag off the counter "Yeah, let's go. Need to get me a drink" Kozik said making his way towards the door, Cassie laughed and with that they left the apartment and went down to Cassie's truck.

On the drive over Cassie started to feel slightly nervous, it had been years since she had been to TM let alone been around the guys from SAMCRO. She was repeatedly telling herself to keep calm, Cassie knew there would be a lot of sweetbutts and croweaters around at the party and she didn't have the best history with women like them. They seemed to find her a threat, they were a big part of her issues with the police when she was in Mexico, Cassie was always close to the guys she hung out with and the girls didn't seem to appreciate another woman taking attention away from them and not having to sleep with they guys to get it. More often than not this lead to the girls trying to prove a point by getting into it with Cassie which was a mistake on their part as they were always the ones to end up on the wrong end of Cassie's harsh right hook. And back then Cassie's self-control wasn't that great so the girls would end up with quite a beating. Cassie just hoped she wouldn't have any issues with any of them tonight.

Thirty minutes later they pulled into the TM lot, Cassie felt her heart begin to beat faster in her chest, as they both jumped out of the truck Kozik looked over at Cassie "You alright kid?" he asked. Kozik could see that Cassie looked apprehensive. She turned to look at Kozik and smiled "I'm fine, I think I just need a minute. Go ahead I'll see you in there" Kozik looked at her again unsure whether to go in without her or stay and make sure she was alright. Kozik decided to giver her some space, he knew coming back to TM would remind Cassie of her father. As she watched Kozik walk into the clubhouse Cassie could hear music playing, she saw that some people had began moving to just outside the clubhouse and were sitting on the picnic tables smoking and drinking. Cassie watched them remembering when she used to sit out there with her father while he smoked, that used to be their spot. When they sat there it was the one place she could properly talk to her father, he would sit and listen to her talk about her day or what she was doing at school. And then when they left that bench he would go back to being the hard biker.

Just as Cassie was about to walk over to the clubhouse she heard someone calling her "Cass? Is that you?" Cassie couldn't believe her eyes when she turned and saw Jax Teller walking towards her, the last time she saw Jax he was a smart ass sixteen year old, now he was all grown up, Cassie walked towards him smiling "Hey Jax" she said as he pulled her in for a hug. "Bloody hell Cass I heard you were back wasn't sure I'd see you here though" he said smiling. "Yeah well, couldn't stay away from the place, plus I heard you guys just got out of county so I thought I'd come and make sure you all made it out alive" she laughed. Jax could see Cassie glancing at the club out of the corner of her eye "Weird being back?" he asked looking at her. Cassie crossed her arms "Yeah a bit, brings back a lot of memories being here. Plus it's been a while since I thought about Dad you know, being back here just makes me remember all the good times. I miss it" she said honestly. Jax felt bad for Cassie he knew how much she loved her father and looked up to him. They had both lost their fathers, in part because of the club. Jax put his arm around Cassie and kissed her on the side of the head "Come on Cass, we'll catch up and talk about the past tomorrow. Tonight lets just party and have fun" he said as he began walking them toward the clubhouse.


	5. Chapter 5

Everything belongs to Kurt Sutter, I own Cassie and Rita. Thank you to all who have read so far, hopefully you are still enjoying the story. Please review.

Chapter 5

Juice was sat at the bar in the clubhouse, he was watching as people were slowly making their way into the party. Brothers were arriving from other charters, some with their old ladies, friends and families of the club. A croweater made her way over to Juice and stood at his side slowly snaking her arm around his shoulders "Hey baby, want some company?" she asked. Juice looked at her for a minute she was the typical croweater pretty with too much makeup, short skirt and a top that left nothing to the imagination. Juice thought back to earlier in the day when he had been propositioned by another croweater and he'd refused, he knew he wanted something more than just an occasional blow job and fuck but he knew he was never going to find it with one of these girls. But after fourteen months locked up Juice decided to put those thoughts out of his head, if he was completely honest with himself he wasn't a saint just like any other guy, if a girl was putting it on a plate for him it wasn't very often he said no. Juice grabbed the girl around her waist and pulled her closer "Come with me" he said getting up from the bar stool, he dragged the girl back to his room.

Twenty minutes later the croweater came walking back out to the bar not looking happy, Juice walked out after her and straight into Tig "She doesn't look happy brother, having problems satisfying the ladies?" he asked Juice with a laugh. Juice looked at Tig and smiled "No man just don't think she appreciated me telling her to leave" he answered. Tig laughed and began walking towards the bar with his arm around Juice's shoulders. Without needing to say anything two beers were on the bar as soon as they walked up to it. Both men grabbed their beers, Juice laughed as Tig began chatting up one of the sweetbutts on the other side of the bar, he turned and leaned his back against the bar so he could look at everyone. As he did Juice noticed Jax walk in with a girl under his arm, he didn't recognise the girl, but straight away noticed how gorgeous she was.

Juice looked her up and down, starting from her face he noticed how beautiful she was, she had long wavy deep brown hair that fell perfectly around her face and lightly tanned skin, she had the most beautiful brown eyes Juice had ever seen, she had sexy full pink lips, as his eyes moved down he gazed over her full chest, which was peeking out of her top. He noted her sexy curves and her long legs that followed. Juice was taken aback at the girl, she was gorgeous he watched as she removed her leather jacket, taking note of the sleeve of tattoo's she had "Damn" he thought to himself, this girl was unlike anyone he had seen before. Sure the girls that hung around the club were cute but they always over did it with makeup and slutty outfits, which Juice just didn't find appealing so much anymore. This girl didn't seem to be wearing too much makeup and her outfit was more biker chick than slutty hang around. Whoever this girl was she seemed to know a lot of the guys, Juice watched as Bobby and Chibs walked over to her and Jax and kept watching as Bobby and Chibs both pulled her in for a hug.

Cassie's nerves seemed to drop away as she walked into the clubhouse, she wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that Jax had his arm around her and was looking after her like a big brother would, or if it was the warm welcome she was getting from the guys.

The first to greet her as she walked into the clubhouse was Bobby, she saw him spot her from the bar and as soon as he saw her, he stopped for a moment, unsure if it was really her he was looking at before tapping Chibs on the shoulder who was stood next to him. It was then when Bobby saw Chibs reaction he knew it was her. He came bounding over to her and Jax and pulled her into a hug "Hey Cassie girl, nice to finally see you? How long has it been?" he asked as he lowered her back to the ground. But before she could answer Chibs pulled her in for a hug as well "Cassie my girl, bout bloody time you came by" he chimed in. "Hi guys, nice to see you too. It's been a while, I know. I've only been back in town the last couple of days, sorry I haven't come round but I've been busy sorting out the new bar. Seems you two haven't changed" Bobby and Chibs looked at each other and laughed "Not a chance darlin" Chibs said. Bobby pulled her out from under Jax's protective arm and pulled her towards the bar "Come on Cassie, come say hello to the rest of the guys" Cassie walked over to the bar with Bobby and Chibs, she looked over her shoulder to see that Jax was following them. As they got to the bar, Bobby put his hand up to the girl behind the bar and within seconds four beers appeared on the bar. As Cassie turned to hand Jax his beer, she saw her. Walking towards her was Gemma Teller "Well, well...Fuck. Cassie Vellenueva, never thought I'd see you back here again" she said walking over to Cassie, Gemma looked her up and down, a stern look on her face. "Nice to see you too Gemma" Cassie answered with a smile, with that Gemma smiled and pulled Cassie into a hug. "Nice to see you baby, glad to have you back" Jax, Chibs and Bobby watched as the two women walked away from the bar and over to one of the tables, the three sons looked at each other rolled their eyes and laughed "Guess we'll see you later then Cass" Jax called after her laughing.

Gemma and Cassie went to sit at a table and catch up "So tell me baby, how's Rita?"Gemma asked. "She's good Gem, set her up down in Puerto Vallarta, she's got a beach house down there. Thought it might be good for her to be out of the cities and get away from it all, she met a guy down there, Carlos. She likes him, they have been living together for a few months now, been together just over a year. He seems to make her happy and he takes care of her" Cassie smiled "She wasn't too happy about me coming back to Charming, was worried about me getting involved with the club" Gemma rolled her eyes "I just reminded her im 27 now and big enough and ugly enough to look after myself and let's be honest Gem I am my father's daughter, I was always gonna end up back here at some point". Gemma laughed "Well baby, you certainly are big enough but definitely not ugly. I'm glad your back baby, I could do with some more strong young women around here, these boys are starting to think they run the place".

Cassie looked at Gemma, she knew now she was back Gemma would start to mother her again like she did when she was younger. Gemma mothered everyone, it was her nature. But Cassie didn't want to be too involved with the club. "Look Gem, I'm glad to be back but I don't really want to get too involved with the club. I've come back to open a bar and try to build a life for myself, that's all" Gemma looked at Cassie hesitantly, but then smiled she knew a bit about Cassie's past troubles so she could understand her being hesitant about being involved with the club "I get it baby, just remember your family. And we will always be here for you whatever you need. Plus let's be honest baby you grew up nice, aint gonna take one of this lot long to try it on" Cassie rolled her eyes, she laughed at Gemma's comment, there was no way she would get involved with a club member. She remembered how hard it was for her mother, watching her get jealous whenever her father went on a run, wondering where he was and who he was sleeping with. She knew the club had rules and she knew she would never be able to be in a relationship with someone who followed rules like that.

"Never gonna happen Gem, I'm not looking for that. I'm no croweater or sweetbutt and I'm certainly not Old Lady material, I got a big mouth and I don't do well with sharing" Cassie laughed. Gemma knew Cassie was right she wasn't good at sharing, never was when she was a kid. But Gemma could see Juice over Cassie's shoulder and he had his eye on Cassie already.


	6. Chapter 6

I own nothing, apart from Cassie. The legendary Mr Sutter owns all.

I just want to say thank you to all those that have read so far and to those that have favourited and followed an extra big thanks. I have spent the last few days on this next chapter, I've read it and re read it a lot and hopefully I've done ok. Please to those reading I will welcome some reviews, need some feedback to know how I'm doing.

Anyway here goes.

Chapter 6

Juice continued watching as the woman Jax brought in went to sit at a table with Gemma, he was trying to figure out who she was. It wasn't until he saw that Gemma had caught him staring that Juice turned to look in any direction but theirs. Gemma had caught him staring, so he knew the only thing to do was walk away. Juice went over to where Jax was with Chibs and Bobby, if he wanted to find out who the girl was Jax seemed to be the best person to ask. "Hey brother" Juice greeted, as he spoke Jax turned to look at him "Hey man, how was the first day out?". Juice smiled at Jax's question "It was ok man, just been chilling at home, then came here" he said solemnly. Jax looked at Juice he knew it had been hard for Juice being locked up and Jax had a feeling Juice was unsure about the moves the club might make next, so Jax stood and pulled Juice over to one of the quieter corners of the clubhouse "Are you ok brother?" he asked. Juice thought about his question for a moment before he answered "Yeah man, it's just...it's just starting to feel like every move we make, gets us deeper and deeper in shit. Don't get me wrong I support everything you and Clay do for the club, I'm with you all the way. Just starting to feel like I need something more in my life than just the club" Jax looked at Juice, confusion crossing his face. Jax wasn't sure what Juice was talking about, did he want out of the club? Jax waited for Juice to continue, when he didn't Jax hesitantly asked him "You want out man?" Jax feared Juice's response as he thought about the consequences if anyone chose to leave the Sons. "No, no it's just..." Juice wasn't sure how to explain to Jax how he was feeling "I love the club man, you guys are my family, it's just seeing you and Tara today with the boys, kinda makes me wish I had someone to come home too. Your lucky you know, that Tara is able to deal with all the club stuff". With that Jax understood what Juice was talking about, sometimes Jax forgot that Juice was nearly the same ages as him, he wasn't like the older guys who had tried the old lady thing and it hadn't worked, so they just stuck with the Croweaters and Sweetbutts. Juice was alone, Jax remembered seeing Juice with Croweaters and Sweetbutts in the past, but he remembered how empty he used to feel after being with them, it was different when you had an Old Lady, you didn't have to share them with the rest of the brothers, that and the club was Juice's only real family.

Jax thought about what Juice said, he was lucky to have Tara, although Juice wasn't completely right about Tara dealing with the club stuff, it had been hard for Tara at first but after Jax had showed her his fathers journal and told Tara about the changes he wanted to try and make with the club things had gotten better for them. Trying to lighten Juice's mood Jax said "Come on brother, take your pick of the croweaters I'm sure they'd love to be someone's old lady". Juice laughed "Yeah I'm sure man, kinda had my fill of croweaters though, plus most of the girls round here have been with all the other guys, not really liking the idea of an Old Lady that's slept with my brothers". Jax looked at Juice, he knew that look he remembered he felt the same way after Abel was born and when Tara came back into his life, the feeling that he wanted something more. Then reading his Fathers journal about what John had wanted for the club, it made Jax look at his life and the club a completely different way, it was that moment that Jax wondered whether to tell Juice about John Tellers journal. But Jax knew now wasn't the right time "Don't worry man, the club stuff will get better and as for the family stuff it will happen, come on lets get another drink" Juice smiled and nodded his head as he followed Jax to the bar.

Jax and Juice made their way back over to the bar, Juice stole another glance at the corner and he could still see Gemma talking to the woman. "Hey Jax, who's that with Gemma?" he asked, Jax turned to look at Gemma and Cassie sat in the corner still deep in conversation, he smiled and turned back to Juice "That's Cassie man, Chico's daughter, you know Chico as in First 9. She lived around here, but her Mom took her to live in Mexico when she was fourteen. Used to come back occasionally to see Chico and then when he died she stopped, hasn't been back in charming for years" Jax looked at Juice who was staring off in the direction of the women, thats when it hit him it wasn't both women Juice was staring at, it was Cassie "I wouldn't even go there brother, that girl is family" Juice quickly turned back to looking at Jax, realising he had caught him staring at Cassie "No man... I mean I wouldn't..." he stuttered. Jax laughed "Not me you should worry about bro, see Cassie, she was raised by Chico, she aint no normal chick, try it on with her and she will kick the crap outta you" Juice looked at Jax, surprise crossing his face the woman he was looking at didn't look like she had a violent bone in her body, then he remembered Opie telling him about this woman earlier but she was nothing like he had imagined, he had seen pictures of Chico and he wasn't the best looking guy in the world Juice was surprised that the girl in front of him was his daughter, she was beautiful. Hearing from Jax about what this woman could do to him he found himself realising he wasn't that surprised, from what he had heard about Chico the guy was completely loyal to the club, even at the expense of his family but if anyone ever tried to mess with him, the club or his family he wouldn't hesistate to bury them.

Jax walked away when he saw Tara come into the clubhouse, she had left the kids with the sitter so she could come by the clubhouse for a few hours. When Juice turned back and realised Jax had gone he decided he was just going to try and enjoy the party, he would catch up with some of his brothers from the other charters and try to avoid the need to go over to Cassie and possibly get himself into a unwelcome situation.

Cassie was still sat catching up with Gemma, she had been telling her what she had been up to over the years, as Gemma began talking Cassie glanced over her shoulder she saw Kozik talking to another club member, she wasn't sure who at first but then they turned and Cassie saw it was Tig. It had been years but Tig still looked the same, Cassie thought back to when Kozik had told her in Tacoma why he and Tig didn't get along, she vaguely remembered it was something to do with a dog. But from what she could see the guys grabbed each other for a hug and it looked like whatever issues they had were now forgotten.

As she turned back to Gemma, Cassie immediately saw that Clay had joined them, Cassie stood to greet him. She remembered Clay from when she was a younger. He had never really spoken to her or even acknowledged her when she was a kid, Clay never really took much notice of anyone except other members back then, maybe with the exception of Gemma, which of course made sense later when Cassie had heard from her Mom that after John died Gemma and Clay had married. As Cassie stood to greet him, Clay put his arm around Cassie and drew her in for a hug, this threw Cassie for a moment the Clay she remembered didn't hug anyone. But Cassie returned the gesture as he began to speak "Hey Cassie" he greeted gruffly as he released her and sat down next to Gemma "Hi Clay, nice to see you" Cassie replied. "So what brings you back to Charming? Thought you and your Mom were done with all this and had set up down in Mexico" he asked. Cassie looked at Clay, she was unsure if his question was sincere or not, she had always felt an uneasy vibe from him even when she was a kid but just like then she chose to ignore it "Yeah we did, Mom's still down there. Been back in the US for a while just been moving around a bit, things weren't working out at my last place, so Kozik persuaded me to come back to Charming and give it a go here" Cassie picked up her beer and drank some as she finished talking.

Clay looked at Cassie quizzically, he remembered the girl when she was younger always hanging around the clubhouse with Jax and Opie. Clay had been close to her Father and at one point Chico was Clays strongest supporter when it came to running the guns, especially after the club decided to stop the local drug trade and it became the number one source of income for the members. But after John died some members of the club wanted to take a step back from the guns, but Clay had pushed the club forward when he took over the gavel, which had caused a divide with some of the members, Chico being one. "So what are your plans now your back darlin?" Clay asked, Cassie looked at him, she hesitated briefly "Not many at the moment, just been finalising a space for a new bar haven't thought past that at the moment" Cassie didn't want to tell Clay too much, the last thing she wanted was for him or the club to get involved in her business. Clay looked at her, he knew she was being vague in her answer, but for the moment he would let her. He knew Cassie didn't want him to be involved in her business, but he was worried that her coming back to Charming could stir things up for the club, so in that moment he decided to let her get on with whatever it was she was in town to do, but he would keep an eye on her "Well Cass, if you need anything just talk to my Queen here" Clay said as he began standing and leaned down to kiss Gemma on the cheek, once he was stood fully he looked Cassie in the eye "You are family after all" he said before he walked away.

Cassie smiled but she knew there was something else in the way he called her family and it wasn't as sincere as she would like to have thought, she watched as Clay walked over to Jax and she turned back to Gemma "Clay hasn't changed much then" she commented. Gemma looked at Cassie and smiled "You know Clay sweetheart" she said with a smile "I am here though, if you need anything sweetheart. Just ask, gonna try and keep you around this time" Cassie looked at Gemma a feeling of affection spread through her "Thanks Gem" Cassie watched as Gemma stood up, a look of confusion spread across her face "Where you going Gem?" Gemma smiled and kissed Cassie on the top of her head "Thought I'd let you two say hello and catch up" she said with a smile. Cassie turned to see who Gemma was talking about, as she turned her face lit up. Cassie jumped up and grabbed the person standing behind her pulling them into a powerful hug, pulling away Cassie looked up and began scanning his face "Hey Op" she said warmly "Nice to see you Cass" Opie looked her up and down, he couldn't believe how much she had changed, the last time Opie remembered seeing Cassie she was about fourteen and she was a bit of a tall skinny wallflower, but she had grown into a beautiful young woman. Opie put his arm around Cassie's shoulder and pulled her to sit down next to him "Heard you were back, I hear your staying this time as well" he said, Cassie laughed and looked over to Kozik, she hadn't actually asked him to keep her return a secret but she hadn't expected him to have told everyone.

"That's the plan, I'll see how it goes. You know me Op, never was one to stay in on place for too long" Opie laughed he knew she was right, even when they were younger Cassie always used to talk about how one day she would get her own bike and ride across the country. "How's life treating you anyway Op, I see you and Jax got what you always wanted" she said pointing to the cut he was wearing. Opie looked at Cassie and smiled, but she noticed what she thought might have been a hint of sadness in his eyes "Yeah, comes at a cost though Cass..." Cassie watched as he seemed to look off into the distance "You ok Op?" she asked, this seemed to snap Opie out of his thoughts "Yeah I'm good" before their conversation could continue a young blonde woman made her way over to them, Cassie looked up at her as she approached "God here we go" she thought to herself, she had only been here for an hour and here came the first Croweater. But as the blonde got closer to the two Cassie noted that she had the crow tattoo on her arm and then to Cassie's surprise the blonde moved herself to stand in between Opie's legs and she bent down and kissed him passionately "Hey Baby" she said as she pulled away from him.

Cassie sat there slightly surprised, then Opie appeared to remember she was sitting next to him, he turned the sadness that was there a moment ago seemed to disappear and a smile fell over his face as he introduced the blonde "Cass, this is Lyla" Cassie smiled and shook her hand "Hi Lyla, nice to meet you" with that Lyla perched herself on Opie's knee "Cass as in Cassie Vellenueva?" Lyla asked, Opie nodded in acknowledgement "Wow, Cassie I've heard so much about you from Op, I thought you lived in Mexico though" Lyla looked at Cassie curiously "Yeah I did, I moved back to the states a while ago, been moving around a bit, haven't really stayed in touch with anyone apart from Koz and occasionally Hap. I just recently decided to move back and give it a go living back in Charming" Lyla smiled and looked at Opie before she spoke again "That's great, well now your back and since your like family to Op..." Cassie watched as Lyla looked at Opie as if she was asking him something only he knew, when he nodded his head again Lyla turned back to Cassie "We would love it if you would come to our wedding" Lyla said happily. A look of shock spread across Cassie's face and then she looked at the couple and smiled "You guys are getting married?" Cassie sounded surprised, which earned her a stern look from Opie and for a moment she saw a look of hurt cross Lyla's face "Of course I'll come, I'd love to" she said quickly, the last thing she wanted to do was upset Lyla, especially when she didn't really know the woman.

As Cassie finished sharing her congratulations with Opie and Lyla and arranging to go over and meet the kids and catch up with Opie properly, she noticed someone staring at her from the bar. She didn't recognise the person but they kept staring at her. Before Opie and Lyla left to go and speak to some of the others Cassie grabbed him by the shoulder "Op, who's the guy over at the bar?" Opie looked over to where Cassie had pointed, he laughed "That, that's Juice" he said as Lyla pulled him away "See you later Cass" she called as she walked away. Cassie chuckled to herself as she thought back to the story Kozik had told her about the guy "So that's Juice" she thought to herself as she made her way over to where he was standing.


End file.
